Grating for the licker-in of cotton-carding engines



M.- WEHLI. GRATING FOR THE LlCKER-IN 0F COTTON CARDING ENGINES APPLICATION FILED SEPT-19,1917.

Z 1 ew 5 1 .1 4M I 1 L a M m m h mll 1 4 through their edges.

PATENT OFFICE.

roams WEHLI, or BASEL, SWITZERLAND.

GBATIN G FOR THE LICKER-IN 0F COTTON-CARDING ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

Application filed September 19, 1917. Serial No. 192,160}

(GRANTED UNDER. THE IROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF MARCH 8, 1921, 41 STAT. L, 1818.)

To alt'w-hom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MORRIS WEHLI, me

chanical engineer, a citizen of the United.

States, residing at Basel, in the Confederation of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gratings for the Licker-In of Cotton-carding Enines, (for which I have made applications or Letters Patent in Switzerland under dates of September 4th and December 29, 1916,) of which the following is a specification.

Thepresent invention relates to a grating for the licker-in of cotton carding engines and in which at the rear of the usual set of adjustable bars there is provided a flat bar which may be adjusted at an angle to the surface of the licker-in and a number of sharply edged knives followed by a plurality of three sided bars, the upper surfaces of which are set at an angle with regard to an imaginary cylindrical surface laid In order to furnish means for adjusting such knives and bars as may be required the said knives and bars may be mounted at their ends in radial slotted bars which are held adjustably in circular slots of supports fixed to: the side frames of the licker-in.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a cross section illustrating my improved grating where the knives and bars, held in adjustable supports secured to the frame, are fixed in position with regard to each other;

Fig. 2 is a cross section through a grating similar to the one shown in Fig. 1 but with the knives and bars made adjustable wit-h re ard to eachother, and f Fig. 3 is a section on line A-A of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents the feed roller, 2 the trough of the same, 3

the licker-in, 4 some of the usual grate-bars, 1 '5 a wide adjustable fiat bar, 6 and 7 arev sharply edged knives, 8 three-sided grate bars, 9 the usual sheet covering, and I 10 the main cylinder.

7 The cotton fed to carding engines is a lap composed ofcompact bunches containing,

foreign matter such as short staple and dust. In the fleece running out from the collector the single fibres are separated from each other and present a very thin and clear film the quicker running working surface.

containing few but prominent foreign substances.

Therefore the cotton bunches, while traveling from the licker-in to the comb taking the film off the collecting cylinder, have to be thoroughly opened and the cotton sep arated from foreign substances. short fibres, sand and dust. This opening of the cotton bunches is effected by the toothed surface of the llcker-in and of the wire cloth of the ma n cylinder, the flats and the collector, while the separation from the foreign matter is effected by the centrifugal force of the l cker-in and of the main cylinder in coaction with the gratings surrounding the same, and with the interstices between the wires wherein the short staple and foreign substances are collected. In order to make it possible for the fibres thrown off from lickerin and main cylinder to return to the bulk of good staple the grating and sheet covering surrounding the quickly revolving parts have to be adjusted to allow a reduction of the force of the air currents revolving with the licker-in should the compact bunches fly off so as to be dashed against the edges of the grate bars, or if the bunches should be caught by the wires of the opposite working parts so as to have one fibre after the other drawn out from the bunch by the wiresBof e sides, the grates and coverings have to pro duce a suction action and a compression of air if the fibres are to be attracted again by the quickl turning working parts.

It will t erefore be easily understood that for the licker-in which has to perform the rough opening of the bunches the intensity of the power required is a good deal greater than in the case of the main cylinder, workers and flats which do the finer opening. If the reduction of the force of the air current exceeds the sucking action and the compression the licker-in will be downing, that is to say much good staple will be retained in it as many of the fibers thrown off cannot returntowards the surface of the cyllnder and will fall into the waste. The product of the carding engine will thus be diminished to the extent of this waste which means so much loss, as the higher price of the better prodnot improved by the lost staple does not compensate for this loss. Besides the very 55 I with the cylinder to glide off along the sur- "face-of bar 5.- Immediately behindthe edge of thisbfar a space with rarefied air isformed whi'ch 'w'ill at once be filled again by air 60 this flow of airjimmediately "behind the' light dust will also be aspirated B the cylinder and will adhere to the wire cloth of the main cylinder and flats which when being cleaned causes a dust which is very injurious to health. g

The reason for this downing or losing good staple and for the dust when cleaning theapparatus in the usual form of licker-in devices is that the knivesjand following-grate bars reduce the air currents passing between the same to such an extent as'to 'cause'this I action. 7

The object of my invention is therefore to provide between the usual knives L and the following grate bars an adjustable flat bar 5 for facilitating'the aspirating action of the licker-in and to have at the rear of this fiat bar a number of smaller knives 6, 7 and a final part consisting of three sided bars 8 the surfaces of which face the licker-in 3 and are likewise set at an angle to the surface of an imaginary cylindrical surface laid through the edges of said bars in order to create the greatest possible working crosssection for the action of the air current.

In operation'the apparatus works as follows:

Owing to the considerable revolving speed of the licker in 3 a layer of air circulates with it andis sucked off by the layer of air circulating at least twice as fast with the 'main'cylinder 10. This suction action is facilitated by thehood 9 covering the licker-in and extending from the main cylinder 10 to the feed roller 1, and the edge of which near the main cylinder 10? is set closely against the surface of the licker-in 3 so as to act like a cut-off for the air. The air sucked off by the main cylinder 10 is restored from the atmospheric air through the apertures between i the grate bars 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, and the velocity of this air entering through these apertures willbe less as the open surface ,of-

grating is increased. But the smaller the velocity, the better the small fibres andparticles of dust thrown off by'the licker in will be enabled to settle down in the waste.

v, The larger fibres will be prevented from getting. out of reach of the licker-in by the fact that'they offer alarger surface'to the air current'than thesrnaller ones. Y

x In order to facilitate licker-in?) in throwing off'the foreign substances'the edges of j the bars 4;, 6,7,8 are setvery closely against the. licker-in so as to causethe'a'ir circulating passingfin "alongthefaces of bars 7 and by said "e'dgesthe'i fibres clinging like hooks against the *wires of the licker-in but runfirmly against the surface of the cylinder so as to be drawn along with it. The ends of fibres extending over the edges of the bars while rubbing along'these edges will be freed of all particles of dust or husk and the more often this is repeated," that is, the more bars there are, the better this cleaning process of the cotton will be effected. These facts explain the great cleaning capacity of the apparatus made according to my invention.

In the other forms of grating heretofore employed on the contrary the faces of the bars all ran parallel with the surface of the licker-in leaving but small apertures between them thereby causing the-velocity of the entering air current to be very considerable.

According to the present invention, howi brought it into reach of the licker-in to press the same against the cylinder. Thus in the waste of the licker-"in only seeds, particles ofstalks and leaves, and a very short down, together with dust and sand staple presented to the main cylinder will be so much better thatthe wire 'clothwill be more efiective and less dust will collect thereon; V a g In Fig. '2 the new gratingis representedwith means for adjusting each'bar independently from the others The flat bar 5 followin the usual bars 4 ismounted on a pivot point 5 The knives 7 as well as the bars 8 rest on both sides of the engine within theforked upper ends of the flat'bars 17 and 18 while the lower .'ends 'of-said bars are slotted and fastened by means of bolts 14 to the support-15 curved concentrically will be" found, but no good staplefand the to the axis of the licker-in, said support being provided-likewise with a curved slot for receiving said bolts. These bolts being slidable in said curved slotpermit the adustment of the grate bars. around the the advantage that the bars maybe set independently of each other in every position and makes the 'barseasily interchangeable.

periphery of the 1icker-in,-aand the'slotsvr Besides the number of bars maybe increased or decreased and the openings between the bars regulated as may best. suit the circumstances; g: 1 f

I claim as my invention:

1. In a cotton carding engine and in combination with the licker in and the ordinary front bars associated therewith, a flat bar adjustably mounted at the rear of the said ordinary bars, and a plurality of knives and grate bars at the rear of the said adjust-- able flat bar.

2. In a cotton carding engine and in combination with the licker in and the ordinary front bars associated therewith, a flat bar at the rear of the said front bars, means for adjusting the said fiat bar to position relatively to the surface of the licker in, and a plurality of knives and grate bars at the rear of the said fiat bar.

3. In a cotton carding engine and in combination with the licker in and the ordinary front bars associated therewith, a fiat bar at the rear of the said front bars, means for adjusting the said fiat bar to position relatively to the surface of the licker in, and a plurality of adjustable knives and great bars at the rear of the said fiat bar.

4. In a cotton carding engine and in 00111- bination with the licker in and the ordinary front bars associated therewith,a flat bar at the rear of the said front bars, means for adjusting the said flat bar to position relatively to the surface of the licker in, a

plurality of adjustable knives and grate bars at the rear of the said flat bar, and means for independently adjusting the said knives and grate bars to position relatively to the surface of the licker-in.

5. In a cotton carding engine and in combination with the licker-in and the front bars associated therewith, a flat bar at the rear of the front bars, means for adjusting the flat bar to position relatively to the surface of the licker-in, a plurality of knives at the rear of the flat bar, and a lurality of grate bars at the rear of the said knives.

6. In a cotton carding engine and in combination with the licker in and the front bars associated therewith, a flat bar at the rear of the front bars, means for adjusting the flat bar to position relatively to the surface of the licker-in, a plurality of knives at the rear of the flat bar, a plurality of grate bars at the rear of the said knives, and means for adjustably securing each of the said knives and grate bars to position relatively to the surface of the licker-in.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MORRIS WEHLI.

Vitnesses FRIDA SALADIN, JULIA DURs'r. 

